Community Thank You

We here at Boneshaker Press are near bursting with thanks for all the generosity and support that we’ve received on our Kickstarter these last few weeks. We’re feeling both humbled and eager to pass the sentiment along so we’re taking some time today to say “thank you” to some of the people who have helped us get here. The online art community is vast, and has been around for a long time now. It’s overflowing with incredible people devoted to their craft who are willing to share their time and knowledge with fellow artists looking to improve. Everyone involved in Encounters with the Imaginary has been touched by this community, and we’re very excited by the prospect of being a part of it in the future.

For now we’ll settle for acknowledging those who have helped us along the way. Many of the people we’re thanking today have impacted the lives of multiple Boneshaker Press members, but we didn’t want this to turn into some sort of score card, so each acknowledgement is written anonymously, and from the first person.

First and foremost we here at Boneshaker press would like to thank Chris Oatley, and his staff at the Oatley Academy. Chris’s fantastic Painting Drama 1 course is where we all met, and the momentum we gained during our time there spurred us to form Boneshaker Press, to develop Encounters with the Imaginary, and to just keep going. We wouldn’t be here without Chris and so we’d like to give him a very special thanks from all of us. Love ya Oats!

Now, in no particular order, a list of some of the inspiring artists who have touched the lives of us here at Boneshaker Press.

I’m a Schoolism subscriber (as are many others in Boneshaker Press), and I’ve really enjoyed the classes I’ve taken so far, but I’d like to call out Bobby’s youtube channel as being something particularly special. He offers tips on a variety of subjects critical to a successful art career, as well as warm up challenges and a whole host of other content. His passion and positivity are infectious and have helped spur me on many times over the years. Thank you Bobby!

I took a few classes with Nate Wragg at CGMA, and he was in all instances an amazing teacher. To this day I’ve never met an artist who can so clearly and succinctly illustrate (no pun intended) the design pedagogy behind effective animation, production design, and even editorial illustration, all while communicating his admiration for the craft.

I came across Stephen’s work a while back, and my appreciation for it has grown year after year. I was lucky enough to attend a Schoolism LIVE event in Calgary last year and his talk was both informative and engaging. If you aren’t able to catch him in person then check out his Art Talk channel on youtube, it’s the next best thing! One of the best aspects of Stephen (aside from what I’ve learned from him) is how real he’s willing to be. He has a charisma and strength of character that I don’t often find online. Thank you Stephen!

Matt Kohr’s Ctrl+ Paint is a wonderful bank of digital painting tutorials. He has a massive amount of content, and each video is extremely succinct, often lasting no more than 5 to 6 minutes. Matt often reminds viewers of the importance of art fundamentals, and many of his videos focus on drawing and observation. When I initially discovered Ctrl + Paint, I still didn’t understand the importance of the fundamentals and I didn’t understand how to improve my art in a more meaningful way. It was very important for me to hear that I only needed a “pencil and a piece of paper” to start my journey to better art. Perhaps the best thing about the site is that the majority of the video content is free! There is a shop with a selection of ”premium” videos (usually around an hour), but the shop is not intrusive and it is clear that it doesn’t take away from the site’s free content (which updates every week).

I’ve taken the two most recent versions of Art Camp, and they were both amazing. Titus Lunter’s philosophical lectures in Art Camp Environment Concept Design changed the way think about art in general, and myself as an artist. The other parts of class helped me improve using clear concrete methods to approach painting. His Project Discovery blog covers a lot of the same topics and is a really interesting read. Noah’s Art Camp 3: Landscapes has really helped me improve dramatically over the last few months. Noah’s critiques of my work have helped me develop a better understanding of light and improved my brushwork dramatically.

Cannot get enough! I found Aaron’s site and Art Tips channel on youtube earlier this year, and within a few days I had watched every video, and purchased his course on figure drawing (and then the full animation set), brush packs, and so on. Aaron possesses a gentle confidence when talking about art that really drew me in and kept me engaged in a way that most teachers/speakers fail to do. Very good, and very real. Thank you Aaron!

Sarah is an incredibly skilled artist and her class, The Spark, was an amazing experience of learning, growth and insight. We had the opportunity to ask questions about working in VisDev /Animation, her critiques were so insightful and there were so many ‘ah-ha!’ moments when she was teaching.

I’ve been a subscriber to Will Terry’s Youtube channel for as long as I can remember. He offers great advice on all things related to the illustration world, fearlessly takes on tough topics, and has helped me learn so much about what it means to work as a professional artist. Last fall I was able to meet him in person at CTNX, and he actually took the time to look at my portfolio and give me some helpful tips.

Digital Art Tutorials is the first online art resource and tutorial site that I came across oh so many years ago. I can’t claim that I own every video that he’s put out but only because he keeps creating new content. Brian is a comics colorist, so the majority of the site is aimed at comic related topics such as inking, coloring, and even lettering. Over the years he’s branched out, covering digital painting techniques in a variety of tutorials. Brian’s videos served as my bridge between traditional art and digital, and I will be forever grateful for that. Thank you Brian!

Dice and Robert are masterful colorists who’ve established some straightforward and approachable means of tackling complex color situations. They’re obviously passionate painters and are effective at empowering their students to take on the challenging task of mastering color and light.

I would watch Will Terrell’s youtube channel when I felt like giving up. His videos are of him coloring his people sketches as talks about his own struggles as an artist and sometimes life in general, and how grateful he is for the life he has now. Will’s candor and contagious laughter never fail to cheer me up. I had the opportunity to meet him the first time I attended CTNx, and at the time I was terrified of showing my portfolio to anyone, but I showed Will Terrell. He was so kind and encouraging, and I can’t express how much his feedback helped me keep going and “keep smiling”.

Tyler Edlin has formed and runs the Google+ group Brushsauce Theatre, where artists network and share their projects, offer feedback and advice and have built a small community to help each other. He also runs a monthly contest on his youtube page. When I start to feel the vastness of the anonymous internet, this community and contest have helped me feel connected and motivated.

The first time Art Camp ran, it helped me tremendously to find a good path when it came to studies. It provided a good ground to stand on, with well-explained pre recorded lessons and an interesting variety of exercises. Noah Bradley’s comments on art education also made me rethink sinking money into studying post-grad abroad at college, when I could learn from home.

Lauren and Marc have really helped me professionally as an artist. Their articles, classes and bootcamps have really helped me present my work in a professional manner and network as an illustrator. In particular the Art Business Bootcamp they have put together was incredibly helpful in thinking about how to pursue an illustration career.

My favorite part about Jake Parker is how willing he is to share. From the tools list on his website to the highly motivational videos he creates for his youtube channel, Jake doles out information and advice that has inspired me to hack my approach to both art making and life as an artist. Thank you Jake!

The best thing about Dave Rapoza and his community is their near single-minded focus on personal improvement, and by extension an emphasis on personal projects. Dave himself has borne this out, as his personal projects in fantasy illustration led to steady work illustrating Wizards of the Coast’s Magic the Gathering cards. Later on, his personal project with painting hyper-realistic and gritty fan art of TMNT characters led to widespread notoriety and eventually working in visual development for Bebop and Rocksteady on the second Ninja Turtles film. All the while, actively engaging his community with live Q & A’s during livestreams.

Concept Cookie is connected to an online education hub called CGCookie. It’s a great online resource for artists who are learning to create with digital tools. A few years ago, I started transitioning my knowledge of traditional painting into digital painting, and their tutorials, contests, and community feedback were a huge help.

Stan is one endearing character. I can remember my surprise at his antics the first time I watched one of his anatomy videos. And the second time. And the third. Pretty soon I realized that Proko.com had turned into my go to source for anything related to human anatomy. Stan serves up in depth examinations of various parts of the human form and does so in an entertaining way. His video tutorials have helped me get through several anatomy blocks (you know, when you draw the same dang arm 15 times and you just can’t get it right?) and I have no doubt they’ll continue to do so. Thank you Stan!

As an artist we spend so much time focused on our craft, the accumulation of technical mastery which is vital to growing as an artist. Equally important though, are the mental and emotional hurdles that we have to face as an artist. I look forward to every video Adam Duff creates for his youtube channel, but most esp the art talks, where he offers insight into the psychology behind being an artist. From overcoming self-doubt or self-censorship, to changing the way you think about the goals of an artist, much of his advice is helpful not only to being a better artist and professional, but also to life in general.

The online art community can feel boundless at times, but it’s separated into small pockets that often fail to connect, and that means it’s easy to miss out on incredible resources and inspiration simply because you haven’t stumbled across it yet. We hope that taking the time to shine a light on these wonderful people, and briefly pointing out how they’ve touched our lives, will also give those reading this a chance to find new mentors and opportunities they might otherwise have missed out on. Each one of the people listed above has earned our thanks, and if you give them a chance, we have no doubt they’ll do the same for you.